According to Bloomberg, Chinese Liaison Office officials have been frequent guests at crypto gatherings in Hong Kong. The tone of their visits and follow-up calls on specific projects was friendly.
Some stakeholders believe this can be seen as validation of Hong Kong’s aspirations to become a crypto hub, with SAR China using its separate legal system and markets as a testing ground – much like Hong Kong was China’s first test of open markets in the 20th century .
“As long as it doesn’t violate the bottom line so as not to jeopardize financial stability in China, Hong Kong is free to explore its own aspirations under ‘One Country, Two Systems,'” quoted Nick Chan, a member of the National People’s Congress and a crypto lawyer, as I said.
On Monday, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) made its first push to open the door to retail crypto trading, initiating a consultation process for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) licensed to provide trading services to target retail.
Some of the requirements the SFC is proposing include a pre-listing token due diligence process, where only pre-approved tokens are available to traders, and the creation of a risk profile for clients to ensure their exposure is “appropriate”. is.
It is not known when the SFC will complete its consultation process on granting retail access.